A man and woman appeared in court on Saturday, charged with the alleged abduction of the woman's baby girl from a north Canberra care home on Thursday.
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The child, aged 16 months, went missing after the 22-year-old man allegedly abducted her from the Barnardos Care House in Belconnen, armed with a kitchen knife and replica gun at about 12.30pm.
NSW Police found the 16-month-old girl "safe and well" in bushland west of Bateman's Bay about 9.15am Friday, ACT Policing said.
The woman, 18, from Canberra, identified as the child's mother and the man's partner in court documents on Saturday, was charged in relation to the unlawful taking of a child. She had a scheduled two-hour supervised contact with the baby which had begun about 12 noon, and left the care home with the baby and the man, court documents said.
The man had allegedly entered the care home via an unlocked side door and told a Barnardos staff member to "get on the ground and count to 100, I am going to search the house". The staff member said he had a 20-centimetre-long knife in one hand and a firearm which looked like a water pistol in the other, documents said. The staff member saw the woman take hold of the baby and a short time later the woman left with the man.
Court documents said the baby had been placed under government protection in June last year – aged two months – and now had ongoing foster carers.
The documents said police received information the woman had posted to her Facebook account in May, saying she was going to abduct a child.
NSW Police said officers found and arrested the man on River Road at Shallow Crossing, north of Nelligen around 9am on Friday.
Police then travelled to a nearby camping ground on Drurys Road, where they found the baby and arrested the woman.
The pair were extradited to the ACT on Friday.
In addition to abduction, the man was charged with aggravated burglary and assault of the staff member.
His application for bail was rejected on Saturday after the court accepted the prosecution's concerns that there was a likelihood of the man endangering the child and failing to appear before court if released.
The court heard he had no fixed abode and didn't have any ties to the ACT, with family in Braidwood and Sydney.
Magistrate Bernadette Boss refused bail, saying the charges the man faced were serious and there was a strong prosecution case.
"It appears there is a likelihood he would commit further offences in relation to the child if released," she said.
"There is a likelihood of him endangering the safety and wellbeing of the child."
The woman did not apply for release but the court heard she would likely make a bail application on Monday.
Neither of the accused entered pleas. The pair, whose cases were heard separately, will face court again on September 1.
Police inquiries were continuing.
